Recycling in the United States
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There is no national law in the United States that mandates
recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
. State and local governments often introduce their own recycling requirements. In 2014, the recycling/composting rate for municipal solid waste in the US was 34.6%. A number of
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
s, including
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
,
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
,
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
,
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
,
Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...
,
Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
,
Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
, New York,
Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
, and
Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
have passed laws that establish
deposits A deposit account is a bank account maintained by a financial institution in which a customer can deposit and withdraw money. Deposit accounts can be savings accounts, current accounts or any of several other types of accounts explained below. ...
or refund values on
beverage A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoo ...
containers while other jurisdictions rely on recycling goals or landfill bans of recyclable materials.


National legislation

On a national level, the
United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it ...
(EPA) oversees a variety of waste issues under the mandate of the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), enacted in 1976, is the principal federal law in the United States governing the disposal of solid waste and hazardous waste.United States. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. , , ''et seq., ...
. These include regulation of hazardous wastes, landfill regulations, and setting recycling goals. The Department of Commerce is also responsible for helping to develop markets for recycled goods.


State and local legislation

More specific recycling legislation is localized through city or state governments. State regulation falls into two major categories: landfill bans and recycling goals. Landfill bans make it illegal to dispose of certain items in a landfill. Most often these items include yard waste, oil, and recyclables easily collected in curbside recycling programs. States with landfill bans of recyclables include
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
,
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
,
Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
, and
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
. Other states focus on recycling goals. These include
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
and
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
. One way in which some states encourage recycling of specific drink containers is through the passage of a bottle bill. A number of U.S. states, such as California, Hawaii, Oregon, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Iowa, Michigan, and New York have passed laws that establish deposits or refund values on beverage containers in order to promote reuse and recycling. Most are five cents per can or bottle. Michigan's has maintained a 10 cent deposit value for bottles and cans since 1976.


Mandatory recycling

Some cities, such as
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, and states like Connecticut, have created mandatory recycling laws that may fine citizens who throw away a certain percentage of recyclable materials in their garbage waste. Vermont also employed a landfill ban of recyclable materials, food and yard waste, and wood. There are also voluntary programs and educational programs to increase recycling where it is not mandated by law. Disposal of recyclables in the garbage is prohibited from households, businesses and apartments. For businesses, that would include prohibiting the disposal of cardboard, paper, and yard waste in the garbage. For apartments and houses, disposal of glass, paper, cardboard, aluminum, and plastic in the garbage would be prohibited. With businesses and apartments, if garbage collectors find more than 10 percent of the container filled with recyclables, they will leave a tag. On the third tag, the business or apartment tenants will receive a $50 fine. However, households do not face the risk of being fined. If trash collectors find over 10 percent of their garbage contains recyclables, they will leave a tag asking the household to separate the garbage and recyclables for collection the next week.


Criticism of mandatory recycling

In a 1996 article in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', John Tierney claimed that government mandated recycling wastes more resources than it saves. Tierney's article received a referenced critique from the
Environmental Defense Fund Environmental Defense Fund or EDF (formerly known as Environmental Defense) is a United States-based nonprofit environmental advocacy group. The group is known for its work on issues including global warming, ecosystem restoration, oceans, and hu ...
, which noted that "the article relied heavily on quotes and information supplied by a group of consultants and think tanks that have strong ideological objections to recycling or a vested financial interest in opposing it". In 2003, Daniel K. Benjamin (a professor of economics at Clemson University) published a paper through the Property and Environment Research Center that reiterated many of the points brought up in the ''New York Times article'', backing them up with a detailed inquiry into the recycling industry of the US. In 2010, he followed up on that with an updated look into the recycling policies of the US, finding that not much has changed. After the government of China restricted imports of U.S. waste in 2017, prices fell. ''The Atlantic'' reports, for example, that one town which in the early 2000's could break even on recycling by selling it for $6/ton found that 15 years later it had to pay $125 a ton to recycle, versus $68 a ton to incinerate.


Business process

Recycled materials are collected from various streams such as household and industrial waste - sometimes as part of a single stream - and then delivered to a
material recovery facility A materials recovery facility, materials reclamation facility, materials recycling facility or Multi re-use facility (MRF, pronounced "murf") is a specialized plant that receives, separates and prepares recyclable materials for marketing to end-u ...
. Once collected, the facility will market and sell the waste as a feedstock for various products. Notable companies involved in the waste collection and processing industry in the United States include
Waste Management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitorin ...
and
Republic Services Republic Services is an American waste disposal company whose services include non-hazardous solid waste collection, waste transfer, waste disposal, recycling, and energy services. It is the second largest provider of waste disposal in the Unite ...
. In some cases the waste management is handled by a local government agency.


Recycling status


Recycling statistics

Recycling statistics (ca. 2014) with similar numbers as of 2015 *An average of approximately 258 million tons of trash is generated by the United States in 2014 **34.6% was recycled **12.8% was combusted for energy recovery **52.6% was landfilled * of trash is generated per capita per day in the United States


Recyclables in the landfill

''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' reported in May 2018 that in some cases, 25% of all recyclables collected are sent to landfill. Contamination can occur from unwashed plastics and greasy cardboard or paper items. If materials are not clean they are sent to landfills.


Recycling by material type

Recycling rates vary by material and product type. According the EPA in 2014: *64.7% of Paper *33.0% of Steel *26.0% of Glass *19.8% of Aluminum *9.5% of Plastics


E-waste

Electronic waste or e-waste describes discarded electrical or
electronic devices The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
. Used electronics which are destined for reuse, resale, salvage, recycling, or disposal are also considered e-waste. Informal processing of e-waste in developing countries can lead to adverse human health effects and environmental
pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...
. Electronic scrap components, such as CPUs, contain potentially harmful components such as
lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
,
cadmium Cadmium is a chemical element with the symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, silvery-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. Like zinc, it demonstrates oxidation state +2 in most of ...
,
beryllium Beryllium is a chemical element with the symbol Be and atomic number 4. It is a steel-gray, strong, lightweight and brittle alkaline earth metal. It is a divalent element that occurs naturally only in combination with other elements to form m ...
, or
brominated flame retardant Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are organobromine compounds that have an inhibitory effect on combustion chemistry and tend to reduce the flammability of products containing them. The brominated variety of commercialized chemical flame retardants ...
s. Recycling and disposal of e-waste may involve significant risk to workers and communities in developed countries and great care must be taken to avoid unsafe exposure in recycling operations and leaking of materials such as heavy metals from landfills and incinerator ashes.: Sthiannopkao S, Wong MH. (2012) Handling e-waste in developed and developing countries: Initiatives, practices, and consequences. Sci Total Environ. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it is important to dispose of electronics via recycling because,"Electronic products are made from valuable resources and materials, including metals, plastics, and glass, all of which require energy to mine and manufacture. Donating or recycling consumer electronics conserves our natural resources and avoids air and water pollution, as well as greenhouse gas emissions that are caused by manufacturing virgin materials." Consumer recycling options include donating equipment directly to organizations in need, sending devices directly back to their original manufacturers, or getting components to a convenient recycler or refurbisher.


Tires

The Environmental Protection Agency reports 290 million scrap tires were generated in 2003. Of the 290 million, 45 million of these scrap tires were used to make automotive and truck tire re-treads. In 2017, 287 million were generated, 38 million reused and 249 million scrapped. With
landfills A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...
minimizing their acceptance of whole tires and the health and environmental risks of stockpiling tires, many new markets have been created for scrap tires. Growing markets exist for a majority of scrap tires produced every year, supported by state and local government. Tires are also often recycled for use on basketball courts and new shoe products. Tires are not desired at
landfills A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...
, due to their large volumes and 75% void space, which quickly consumes valuable space. As of 2017, 40 states banned whole tires from landfills, 38 allowed shredded tires, 24 allowed processed tires in mono-fills. Fees are collected by 37 states. In 2017, 81.4% of scrapped tires were marketed for some beneficial use, down from 87.9% in 2015. Of the 3,411 thousand tons of marketed scrap tires, 50.8% were used as fuel, 29.6% as ground rubber. Of the tires used as fuel, 46% were consumed in cement kilns, 29% in pulp and paper mills and 25% in electric utility boilers. The United States has decreased the number of waste tires in storage from about 1 billion in 1992, down to 60 million tires in 2017, primarily due to state scrap management programs. Most of the remaining stockpiles are in Colorado and Texas. ;Local government US state laws and regulations dealing with scrap tires are currently enacted in 48 states. Here are some common features of state programs that deal with scrap tires: source of funding for the program; licensing or registration of scrap tire haulers, processors, and end users; manifests for scrap tire shipments; limitations on who may handle scrap tires; financial assurance requirements for scrap tire handlers; and market development activities. Some state programs are now supported by fees charged to the consumer at purchase or disposal of each tire. These fees, sometimes called “tipping fees”, help to support recycling costs. When the disposal rates charged to consumers are set high, this, in turn, discourages landfill disposal, a simple solution encouraging more affordable tire recycling programs.


Chinese recycling industry restrictions

For most of the early twenty-first century, China was the main destination for the world's scrap material. This resulted from a combination of factors, including the growing need for metal, paper and plastics in China's expanding industry, lax environmental regulations, cheap labor, and inexpensive shipping using containers that would otherwise be returned to China empty. In the United States, this resulted in a strong market for many scrap commodities and allowed local recycling programs to come close to breaking even economically or even to turn a small profit. That situation abruptly changed in 2017 when China announced its ‘’’ National Sword’’’ program which banned many scrap imports and imposed strict quality standards on others, starting in February 2018. Acceptable limits for contamination in imported waste were cut from 5-10 percent to 0.5 percent. Since then almost no plastic scrap has been exported to China from the United States and shipments of metal and paper scrap have been sharply reduced. Scrap plastic imports dropped from 3.5 million metric tons in 2017 to 21,300 metric tons in the first half of 2018. As a result, scrap prices in the US have plummeted. The US recycling industry is responding by investing in better sorting equipment to attempt to meet the National Sword standards and by developing new market for waste materials both within the US and in other countries, including Southeast Asia and India. However several countries in Southeast Asia have announced their own restrictions on recycling.


Early history

The first post- World War II mass recycling program in the United States, "Ban The Can," was conceived and executed in 1970 by Ruth "Pat" Webb in
Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...
. Webb organized military and civilian volunteers to collect over 9 tons (8,200 kg) of metal cans from the roadways and highways of
Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O ...
. The metal cans were later recycled into steel reinforcement bars to be used in local construction projects. The Stanolind Recycling Plant was in operation as early 1947. Another early recycling mill was Waste Techniques, built in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania in 1972. Waste Techniques was sold to Frank Keel in 1978, and resold to BFI in 1981.
Woodbury, New Jersey Woodbury is the county seat of Gloucester County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the South Jersey region of the state.Mobro 4000 barge hauled garbage from New York to
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
; where it was denied. It was then sent to
Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
, where it was denied as well. Finally, the barge returned to New York and the garbage was incinerated. The incident led to heated discussions in the media about waste disposal and recycling. The incident is often referred to as igniting the recycling "hysteria" of the 1990s.


Recycling education

Integrating recycling into K-12 educational system has become a goal for many educators. Usually, it is integrated into science or social studies classrooms. This is due to its inclusion in the national education standards for both of these subject areas. Common areas that recycling is integrated into the curriculum include areas such as the study of natural resources, general environmental units, soil units, water units, community units, economic units, and geography units. Although interest is growing, major textbook publishers do not always include recycling in a textbook so teachers are left to supplement the textbooks with outside curriculum to meet the national standards. For example, in a unit about trees or natural resources teachers could include supplemental curriculum about recycling because in the textbook it is never explicitly covered. Non-profit organizations as well as governmental organizations have created supplemental curriculum for teachers to fill this void. Some purely non-profit groups include the
Center for a New American Dream New Dream – previously known as The Center for a New American Dream – is a nonprofit organization with a stated mission to " empower individuals, communities, and organizations to transform the ways they consume to improve well-being for peop ...
and Be SMART. Other creators of curriculum include governmental offices. Some of these include Oregon, California, and Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Also, some non-profit organizations have partnered with sections of the government to collaborate on educational materials. For example, the Keystone Center partnered with the
United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...
and the
National Energy Technology Laboratory The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is a U.S national laboratory under the Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy. NETL focuses on applied research for the clean production and use of domestic energy resources. NETL perform ...
to create curriculum on
global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
.


America Recycles Day

America Recycles Day(ARD) is the only nationally recognized day dedicated to encouraging Americans to recycle and buy recycled products. ARD is celebrated annually on November 15. The World Recycling Day celebrated in most countries, though falls on July 8. Thousands of events are held across the U.S. to raise awareness about the importance of recycling and to encourage American to sign personal pledges to recycle and buy products made from recycled materials.US raises waste awareness with "America Recycles Day"
www.letsrecycle.com, Retrieved 15.11.06
George W. Bush Proclamation on America Recycles Day
, www.waste-management-world.com, Retrieved 24.11.06
Started by the recycling sector organization National Recycling Coalition in 1997, America Recycles Day has been a program of national nonprofit
Keep America Beautiful Keep America Beautiful is a nonprofit organization founded in 1953. It is the largest community improvement organization in the United States, with more than 700 state and community-based affiliate organizations and more than 1,000 partner organiz ...
since 2009. As the managing entity of America Recycles Day, Keep America Beautiful provides promotional and marketing support and resources to a network of local event organizers. It is sponsored by private and public entities and the EPA. Although America may not enjoy much of a reputation for
environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks ...
on the global stage, in some US cities, recycling levels are much higher than, for example, in the UK.


See also

* Container-deposit legislation in the United States *
Environment of the United States The environment of the United States comprises diverse biotas, climates, and geologies. This diversity leads to a number of different distinct regions and geographies in which human communities live. This includes a rich variety of species of both ...
*
Environmental issues in the United States Environmental issues in the United States include climate change, energy, species conservation, invasive species, deforestation, mining, nuclear accidents, pesticides, pollution, waste and over-population. Despite taking hundreds of measures, t ...
*
Keep America Beautiful Keep America Beautiful is a nonprofit organization founded in 1953. It is the largest community improvement organization in the United States, with more than 700 state and community-based affiliate organizations and more than 1,000 partner organiz ...
* ecycler *
Resin identification code The ASTM International Resin Identification Coding System, often abbreviated RIC, is a set of symbols appearing on plastic products that identify the plastic resin out of which the product is made. It was developed in 1988 by the Society of t ...
(plastic recycling numbers) * USPS Post Office Box Lobby Recycling program *
History of bottle recycling in the United States History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...


References


External links


Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in the United States: Facts and Figures
EPA
Municipal Solid Waste Management in the US
MSW *
America Recycles Day
(Keep America Beautiful initiative)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Recycling In The United States Recycling in the United States, *R Environmentalism in the United States